Welcome to Sunne.
300 years ago the gods went to war. No one remembers why, only that nature itself was ravaged.
From this Cataclysm came scorched desert, poisonous forest and vicious ice.
This is where we have survived and where the Three Nations have risen.

Now war is come again.

After three centuries in isolation the Red Empire, the Green Realm and the Blue Republic cross paths.
And as expansion meets expansion, the word is spread...
...word that the Divine Weapons, dropped as the gods fell, are being uncovered across the land.

Sunne is home to countless races, sprung up after the Cataclysm. With each year there are new discoveries.

You can play whatever fantasy race you like (within reason). But also, if you want to choose from a list, here are the most common races...

Human

The most populous and diverse race of Sunne, humans have adapted more than any other creature to the post-Cataclysm environment. What is more, they are remarkably reproductive, capable of interbreeding with most other races. Humans comes in all shapes and sizes. However, they are not always dominant. In Viridos and Kaustir they are second to the stranger creatures of the world.

The Forest Kin are spirits of nature in physical form. Where once their lives were carefree and filled with beauty, their existence nowadays is harrowing, a constant struggle to uphold the balance of a world out of control. While some take animal forms or humanoid shapes, others are utterly alien in appearance. Their temperaments range from mischievous to messianic. But all in the name of nature.

PROS: Affinity with the natural world.
CONS: Need light, water and nutrients.

Draken

Though nowadays dragons are mysterious and rarely seen, there was a time when they lived among us. The Draken are their descendents - reptilian, natural-armoured and cold-blooded. They cannot live without heat, but are among the most resilient and combatant of races. A good general keeps his Draken soldiers on the front line, and a good Draken knows how to market their talents.

Born of dark magic and nightmare, the Nocturne are blood drinkers. They are one with the night and long for the witching hours when the sun is smothered. At times beautiful, at times monstrous, they take many forms and though some may seem human this is but mockery. They are treated with apprehension by other races, but there is no doubting their power.

PROS: Extended lifespan, heightened senses
CONS: Normal food is like junk food. Only blood keeps them healthy. Also, they are weakened by sunlight

Avian

This proud winged race escaped much of the Cataclysm fallout in the shelter of the mountains. As such, they are often the purest in bloodline, healthy specimens of physical beauty who place great value on their lineage. But the ability to fly from danger has won Avians two reputations - that of being impulsive, and that of being aloof. The popular saying is that you can never trust an Avian to stick around.

Second only to humans in number, the Anima are magical, enchanting evolutions of traditional beasts. Many could be mistaken for everyday animals, while others are large and bizarre facsimiles. One thing they have in common is an intelligence and spirit as vibrant as any humanoid. Many interbreed with humans to create anthros, which have an easier time integrating into society and are often found in positions of power.

PROS: Varied depending on animal type
CONS: Prone to mockery and subjugation by the humanoid races.

Two things hold true between all races. Firstly, the absence of divine power. Not a single soul in the land can channel the power of a god. And secondly, the presence of the Aux companions...

Aux & Crux

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The Aux is your symbol. It is the shape of your innermost being. It could be an animal, an element or an object. It has been with you all your life, growing as you grow, changing as you change. It is your animal companion, your favoured possession, your soul made manifest. The plural of Aux is Aux - the name is both singular and plural.

The Crux is your body - the flesh and bone. It is the part that acts, that bleeds, that fights and fucks. The term "Crux" will be rarely used in this roleplay since it is the physical character that you act with. The plural of Crux is Crux - the name is both singular and plural.

A Crux must concentrate to control their Aux. They must be conscious, clear-headed and calm.

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Abilities

An Aux can talk. It can move up to 30 feet away from you. It cannot alter the world around it. It cannot carry you or lift weight. It cannot harm other people or Aux. It can give you feelings and intuitions, but you cannot perceive things through its senses.

Once per day, however, an Aux can perform an Advent. The Aux joins with you to aid in one of two tasks. During character creation, choose two of your Notable Skills that can be Advents. You may perform ONE Advent per day for 1 continuous minute. This minute may not be divided between your two skills and may not be broken down into smaller, separate time increments.

To travel from one city to another will take 3 days by horse and 5 days by foot.

Use this as a basic guide when determining how long it should take your character to get somewhere. We are not going to be strict about this - just be creative and tell a good story.

Regions of note

The Chersonese

The strip of land where the Three Nations overlap is also the most temperate place in Sunne. A perfect climate where land is fertile and conditions are liveable. It is no wonder that the Chersonese is the most strategically important and politically volatile region in the known lands. As war looms, many look to the Chersonese as the battleground.​

The Prosperos Sea

While some gods perished beneath the mountains, choked in the forests or burned in the deserts, it was over the plane of Prosperos where the greatest number fell. A battle beyond imagining carved out a crater in the world. And for a century following the Cataclysm this place was a primordial soup of magic and psychic trauma. Through the slow years the water encroached and the ocean filled the crater, thence feeding the rivers of the Three Nations. Now, three centuries later, the mortal races have barely scratched the surface of what lies beneath those troubled waters.​

The Deadlands

Not much is known about the Deadlands, only that those who venture in do not return. A blockade was erected around the borders by the Forest Kin to keep the abominations that inhabit the Deadlands at bay.​

After two hundred years, Kaustir still burns from the Cataclysm. Volcanic fissures scar the landscape, rendering it a desert wasteland. Storms of sand and volcanic ash strip the skin of any stranded in the open. It was here, in this infernal place, that the Burning Czar’s insatiable conquest was forged.

Kaustir society values industrialization and military conquest. The worship of deities of any kind is punishable by death.

ZIRAKO

The capital city, constructed around an iron mountain where a thousand natural springs shoot forth. Each spring is revered and guarded – both life-giver and stronghold. Zirako is the oasis in an otherwise murderous desert. Here the Burning Czar holds court and plots the agenda of the empire.

They say Zirako is impregnable. The city is a series of concentric keeps and murder-holes, designed to withstand the most relentless siege. It is a testament to the Burning Czar's cunning. Likewise, the diet is a harsh one: birds, snakes and scorpions, with a side of cacti. The national drink, Kresnik, is brewed here and drunk by anyone with self-respect. They say you may not enter the court of the Burning Czar until you have a taken a shot.

DORGRAD

A massive underground city and heart of the war machine. 90% of the population work in sprawling ore mines. It is a city that never sleeps, a city that sends daily metal shipments to every corner of Sunne.

While Zirako embodies the militaristic ideals of the Red Empire, Dorgrad is the Worker's Paradise. Everyone is equal and has no possessions of their own. The tunnels are plastered with propaganda posters and meals of fungi and root vegetables are eaten in communal halls. All workers are pale from lack of sunlight.

Entrance to Dorgrad is through a dormant volcano in the magma wastes. Few survive on the toxic surface, and those who guard the entrance are known as the Ipari, masked soldiers who escort the ore convoys and keep watch for horrors shambling from the wastes.

AVARATH

Hailed as the greatest city in Sunne, Avarath lies on the borders of the three lands. Populated by exotic traders and fed with desert riches, it is a place for the wealthy and the daring. It has suffered many invasions, but with each occupation the merchant class has grown stronger. The saying goes that you could spend 50 years in Avarath and still not see all its wonders.

Every diet, sport and pleasure is catered to in Avarath. Indeed, throughout history, there has been tension between Avarath and the capital. The soldiers think the merchants weak and frivolous. Yet without them the industries of Kaustir would collapse. So as compromise between these two ideals, the city holds monthly gladiator games, famed throughout Sunne.

VIRIDOSThe Green Realm​

The soil of Viridos still leaches the Cataclysm’s poison from Sunne. It is a toxic forest of venomous plants and giant insects. The land's dwindling stewards, the Forest Kin, struggle to maintain order - a task which their elders received from the being known as Ilium, who visited them in the final days of the Cataclysm. By her teachings the Forest Kin have purified enough territory to sustain a civilization. Now they work and await Ilium’s return...

Viridosi society is based on Ilium's spiritual teachings and its cities are built around the Prosperos River, the live-giver amongst the poison.

EDELON

The capital city is a paradise in the forest. It is built amidst massive waterfalls, where the Prosperos River begins, and is home to the Elders and the greatest theologians of our time. To live here is to be at one with nature.

The land surrounding Edelon is so precious that domestication of livestock is prohibited. The city's majority are strictly vegetarian. Animals are held sacred and roam as they please through the streets and temple chambers. Meditation and practicing mudrās (tantric poses to align body and mind) are part of daily life.

The safest travel in Viridos is via the Prosperos River, and skilled rangers and navigators are highly valued. Many are trained in Edelon itself and graduation ceremonies are grand affairs in which the trackers are sent down the river on decorated boats, to the sound of holy choirs.

The waters themselves flow through temples and homes, and some say that spirits swim in them. The ghosts of ancestors and forest spirits lost during the Cataclysm. Kairos, the Jade Prophet, is in communion with these spirits and from Edelon bears witness to the great changes in the world.

HOSIA

The City of the Great River. Hosia lies where the River empties into the Sea. It is a realm of barges and floating favelas, houses strung between submerged trees and perched in swamp lands. Like Avarath, Hosia has been invaded many times, and eastern influences remain in the mercantile culture. Since all imports and exports flow through Hosia, the merchant families hold political power, and forge daily alliances and vendettas with their counterparts in Avarath. By this cold war the flow of goods across the Prosperos Sea is determined.

Sunne's finest survivalists are from Hosia, where the fight with the Poisoned Forest is a daily one. It is a great talent in the Green Realm to know the tributaries of the river. Their size, location and perils are recited like holy mantras. Likewise, those who find food from the delta waters are indispensable. Climbing trees and hopping over marshes are key skills, and there are whole gangs of street children that race across the city in daily errands.

The land lies deserted now, scooped out of its lands by the departure of the merchant guild, who made their home here and in Avarath. The shores are blockaded with ancient mangroves that stretch into the sky.

RIVEN

This city rises high above the forest canopy on a single trunk, with vines and branches capable of supporting hundreds of homes. The Riven Tree is believed to have spread the first seeds that took root in the world – the source of life and the birthplace of the Ilium Cult. It is guarded by vengeful fey and home to some of the weirdest creatures of the Green Realm.

The Riven Tree's branches intercept and are dense enough to hold soil. In these gardens beneficial herbs and plants can be found, as well as a Bee Hive at the highest level tended by Forest Kin. The honeycomb from this hive is said to provide immunity to most toxins in Viridos, and for this reason Alchemists and healers flock to Riven.

The lower reaches are submerged in the Prosperos River, and rumour tells of aquatic structures around the base. There are also parts where the tree is hollow. The finest architects in Riven are Forest Kin in tune with the tree who can "ask" it to alter its growth patterns and form new features. By this harmony the city is grown organically, and those parts of the tree that cannot be reached by the river are instead accessed via huge mile-long branches that loom over the forest canopy.

AVIARY

Once a city in the skies and home to the oldest dynasties of avians, the Aviary crashed to ground in Chapter 3. It was caught by ancient earth elementals after the Jade Prophet petitioned their help. Now supported on mountainous arms and hands, the city adjusts to its new home in the heart of the Prisma Strata, the rock plains north of the Poisoned Forest.

Many years will pass before the Aviary is rebuilt and the refugees return home. The avians are a scattered people, and this their wounded home. Many great temples and old cathedrals are ruined, and bodies are still being pulled from the wreckage. In the quest to protect the old bloodlines, marriages are being arranged and alliances formed. It is a momentous time for this city.

PEGULISThe Blue Republic​

The past is buried in the frozen lands of Pegulis. Impossible, alien structures are hidden amongst the mountains and ice rivers. Those that are uncovered are repurposed to suit the needs of the Pegulians, a hardy and enlightened people who have faced the fiercest winters. They are led by the Northern Archon, a shrewd diplomat who works in secret to build a nation as strong as Kaustir or Viridos.

The secret city. The Blue capital is a network of caves connecting the Pegulian Mountains. Few outsiders have ever seen it, and travelers who stumble upon are sworn to secrecy. Here the Blue President preserves the philosopher-class of mages and scholars and harnesses their live-preserving magic.

The Barval caves were found by the Blue President as a child, and for all her life she has gathered the finest minds here. In these mountains she perfected the Thermic Gems that warm every household in Pegulis. The capital itself is an arcane triumph, a conquest of invention over nature.

The golden principle in Pegulis is enlightenment. Education begins early and continues for a lifetime. Every major cavern is organized around a forum where sages speak and debate. Children are not taught in classrooms but rather by walking the tunnels with their teacher. By this the idea is spread that every one, regardless of age or birth, has a right to know and a right to speak. It is the foundation of Pegulian democracy.

TAVARK

The hunter’s city. Deep in the evergreen forests, Tavark is one of the few places in Pegulis not blanketed in perpetual snow. It is a city of pine wood and animal hide, where trappers and hunters reign. Each home is hung with beast furs and decorated with animal bones, trophy upon trophy proclaiming the sagas of the family. There is nothing better in Tavark than hanging a fresh kill above your doorway for the neighbours to see.

Here the northmen are fierce and those who do not hunt in the forest build longboats to explore the northern oceans. Stories abound of pirates and great sea monsters to be battled in the waters. Yet the democracy of the capital is not lost here. Every citizen has their say in Tavark, and education is valued as the path to better hunting grounds, better homes and greater conquests.

ALDUS

The Wall of Ghosts. Stretching along the western border, between Lake Kaikas and the Ocean, is a line of ancient, forgotten structures, built from materials beyond comprehension. In the ice wind they almost whisper with the mysteries of the past. Perhaps they were once joined together - a single great wall that suffered disaster. Yet though no one knows their purpose, many Pegulians now live amid these structures. Aldus has the largest population of all Pegulian cities, and from its dizzying heights they keep watch over the border with Viridos.

The diet in Aldus is primarily fish and elk. Plant life is scare, save for seaweed from the coast. This diet is jokingly called "brain-food", and for good reason, since the people of Aldus are as intelligent as any scholar of the capital. Some blame the structures themselves. If a new invention or spell is emerges, it is likely from one who has spent too long sleeping with their head against the metal of the Wall.

PROSPEROSThe Merchant Guild​

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The merchants were first borne by the coast. An ancient community that plied the lands near present day Avarath, half of them were driven to the opposite end of the sea by the Invading Czar. Though they lost their pride and freedom, they quietly reforged them both in their gigantic trade ships. Now, expanding ideals and egos have once again driven them from their homes on the coast. But this time, they are prepared - with city-sized ships of metal and gunpowder that will rain peace down upon their oppressors of the century.

- Computers, Electricity, Lasers, Microwave, Locomotion, Radio and all that 20th Century shit.
- Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Cyberpunk - pretty much any kind of punk
- Time Travel
- Personal Firearms (gunpowder exists, but in the form of heavy-ass cannons that require strenuous upkeep)
- Immortality
- Personal "pocket" dimensions
- Extra-planar creatures (everyone was born in Sunne - you did not come here from another place)
- Being born during, before or within living memory of the Cataclysm.
- Direct depiction, channeling of, or interaction with gods.
- Being from another continent
- Being from the Deadlands
- Being a lone mercenary/assassin/adventurer/treasure-hunter/bard/thief/sellsword who roams the land and inexplicably manages to survive by taking "odd jobs". Most drifters would be killed if they stumbled into a village in this post-apocalyptic feudal world. In Sunne you have to work for someone and be part of a community. It's just that kind of roleplay.
- Necromancy or anything to do with raising the dead.

Come and browse (at your leisure, diligent scholar) the fragments of knowledge left behind by the Cataclysm. Do take note of how magic and arcana function in Sunne ...

Magic and Arcana​

Magic is a curious phenomenon in Sunne. Although many in their life will never come across the formal study and practice of magic, every inhabitant of Sunne is intimately familiar and simultaneously unaware: their aux and advent are considered a branch of personal magic by many scholars in Pegulis. The short summary is that all who study magic eventually run into two walls:

1) The known unknown, the completely unquantitative and unqualitative. It defies study by equations, experiments, thoughts, feelings, and observation. But it underpins all phenomenon in Sunne that transcend intuition. The only way forward is to accept it as an axiom of reality and learn of ways to harness it.

2) The finite amount of the unknown listed above. Since the cataclysm, there have only been a few attempts at large scale magic. All have threatened to completely transform or wipe out life, even reality, as presently known on Sunne. Thus magic is a finite resource that all treat with great respect and restraint; no one knows at any time when the collective use of magic on Sunne will exceed the limit, and schools of magic teach it as the first and foremost principle, even devoting significant resources to witch hunters that seek out and purge rogue practitioners.

Theories​

Magic and Arcana in the three nationsThere are a few theories from major schools of magic in Sunne about the Unknown. Most are mutually inclusive and overlap extensively.

MudraLittle is known about the Viridosian system of magic. A simple gesture and uttered gibberish can lead to the most astounding of effects.

Inner vitalityMagic from the soul, shaped by thoughts.

AetherThe most rigorous field of magiks. The aether is a mysterious, intangible, and omnipresent force that is shaped and controlled by channeling it through a spell circles. There are an infinite amount of tomes and grimoires on the creation and combination of graphical formulae to achieve the desired result.

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